Question

Can someone explain mitosis and meiosis in laymans terms? Thanks a million

Answer 1

Mitosis - cell reproduction. Results in somatic (body) cells, such as those found in your skin, eyes, liver, heart etc. Goes through DNA replication (duplication of DNA) and results in 2 daughter body cells as a product of one original cell.
These are the steps of mitosis (in order):
PROPHASE - METAPHASE - ANAPHASE - TELOPHASE - INTERPHASE (PMATI)

Meiosis - cell reproduction. Results in gamete (sex) cells; egg and sperm. Starts with one diploid cell. Goes through PMATI twice, resulting in 4 haploid cells as a product of the original diploid cell. This means that each cell has half the amount of chromosomes from each parent, instead of 100% from one parent alone. (<--That only happens in cloning, or ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION).

Definitions:

HAPLOID: Haploid means half the regular number of chromosomes.

DIPLOID: Containing two complete sets of chromosomes, one from each parent.

I hope this helped you! :)
If you need more help, these simple, easy - to - read links will help you understand the step-by-step breakdown in both mitosis and meiosis. Cheers! :)

www.biology4kids.com/files/cell2_mitosis.html

www.biology4kids.com/files/cell2_meiosis.html